You may not even realize how many times you’ve probably read the name John Langley in your lifetime. If you’ve been watching Cops for the last twenty-five years (like we have), you’ve most likely seen it more than a thousand times. John Langley has been called the “Godfather of Reality TV,” and for good reason. As the creator of Cops, he essentially broke ground on the genre itself—which is why it came as such a surprise when Fox announced that, after twenty-fifth seasons, it would cease airing the show. Cops, however, has moved seamlessly over to Spike and continues to run brand new episodes in its original 8 PM Saturday timeslot. Parade caught up with Langley to discuss the move to Spike, the show’s long history, and the state of “reality” TV today.

How did the idea for the show Cops come about for you?Years ago, I did a show called Cocaine Blues and, at the time, I went on a drug raid. This was back in 1981 or so, and I observed the police doing a drug raid, and I thought, “How interesting would it be to have a show with nothing between you and the officers?” In other words, it would be like a ride-along—be with them when they do something, from their point of view. So that was the genesis of it, and then it took many years to interest anyone in the idea.

It’s amazing how much of a cultural icon the show has become. Everybody knows the theme song.That’s what astonishes me to this day. I only knew that it was a good idea for a show. I really believe in the show, obviously, and I kept turning down anybody’s modifications of it. They wanted me to put in music. I’d said no. They wanted me to add a narrator. I said no. They wanted me to do recreations. I’d said no. I just stuck to my guns. I thought it was a pretty simple idea that was straightforward and doable, but no one quite saw it. Now everybody sees it, of course.

You’ve been called the “Godfather of Reality TV” because of your work on Cops. With the recent slate of “reality TV,” do you consider that a compliment, or do you feel like you created a monster?As I’ve said before, if indeed I am the “Godfather of Reality TV,” I refuse to be responsible for some of the bastards that followed me. [Laughs] Talk about illegitimate offspring that I refuse to claim. As we all know, so-called “reality TV” has become managed reality TV or recreated reality TV. There’s very little actual reality TV on the air now. Cops is a documentary in network TV format. That’s what my claim to fame is: I popularized the documentary form again. It’s about what you see is what you get.

Are there any shows out there that you think are breaking new ground in the genre or are doing it the right way?I would have to go back a little bit. I liked Deadliest Catch. I was very fond of that show, because I was going to do it at one time and they beat me to it. I was going to do it back when I started Cops. I was going to do a thing called Dangerous Jobs and a series on that very subject, including Alaskan fisherman. I admired that show. Having said that, I like a lot of Mark Burnett’s stuff. It’s not what I do, but I still admire it. I thought Survivor was a breakthrough show and I like a lot of his programs. They’re very good. It’s a different kind of thing, but I admire his work.

Why do you think Fox was no longer interested in running new episodes of Cops?Every couple of years, along comes a new executive at Fox that wants to pee on the fire hydrant. If a show is already there, then he can’t claim it. [Laughs] There’s a great deal of ego in our business, and a great deal of proprietary interest in having your own schedule. I’ve always had to go through that, but I’ve always survived it in the past because Cops always did well and there’s a bit of “don’t fix it if it isn’t broken.” However, they started changing their programming strategy at Fox and they were going to put on regional sports on Saturdays. They started pre-empting us a lot, cutting back on our orders, and I said, “The time has come to move on.” I figured twenty-five years was plenty. I have very fond memories of Fox and I’ve had a great relationship with them over the years. We’re still partners on syndicated Cops stuff and various iterations like Cops Reloaded, so I have a good relationship with Fox. There’s just a time to move on, and Spike has stepped in as our champion. It’s a good place to be.

How has the transition to Spike been for you and the show?It has been a seamless, delightful transfer. Kevin Kay is a huge champion of the show and has wanted it for a couple of years now.

So they didn’t ask you to change anything?No. Here’s one of the interesting things: When I met with Kevin, I said, “Kevin, I would love to come to Spike but I’m not going to listen to a thirty-year-old executive tell me how to do this show.” And he said, “John, I promise you one thing: The only person you ever have to talk to about this show is me. And I don’t want a different Cops. I want the Cops that you do.” Humorously enough, he sent me a congratulatory bottle of wine at the end of this year and the note said, “See, I told you I wasn’t going to change anything!” [Laughs]

How has the show been received by the law enforcement community over the years?The law enforcement community was skeptical at first because they had a very adversarial relationship with media. They were used to people investigating and criticizing them, so along comes a guy like me wanting to do a show following them around 24-7 and they go, “Are you crazy? Why would we do that? There are nothing but downsides in it for us.” So there was some skepticism at first, but after we did the show and people could see what it was, we got a lot of invitations because we tended to humanize police officers. It wasn’t just a uniform anymore. You could see that there was a real person there who had feelings and concerns.

You have released a bunch of compilation DVDs like Too Hot for TV, but have you ever considered releasing the entire series run on DVD?I thought that Fox was sort of doing that, at one time, and we’ve done different DVDs, as you mentioned, but with all the streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, it seems like you can go back and find any show you want. It’s not entirely that way, but it will be in the future, I’m convinced. You’ll be able to order any show you want. Bearing in mind, we’ve done a thousand of these, so that’s a lot of show. [Laughs]

I would love to see you guys partner with a Netflix or a Hulu to give fans the entire library.Oh, I would love it too. There are fans that know the show almost better than I do.

John Langley is the creator of Cops(Courtesy of Langley Productions)

How long do you think Cops can go on for? Can you pass the torch and have the show even outlive you?I don’t know. I was always hesitant to predict that sort of thing. A friend of mine, Stephen Chao, once said to me, “Cops is like the news. It’s not going to get old.” He thinks it will run forever. If it has ratings, someone will keep the show on the air. I hope that’s the case. I think it’s a good show and it’s a touch of history in many ways. I get a big thrill out of thinking that, a hundred years from now, these shows may be studied in academia for their sociological and psychological value.

Is there any special significance to why you chose “132 and Bush, I’ve got him at gunpoint” to end each episode?No. That’s from Portland, and I chose it because it was active. It was just, to me, sort of a classic radio dispatch. I don’t know. I just arbitrarily chose it. But I soon realized that you have to have little iconic moments in your shows. One is our theme song, obviously, and another is that ending.

AMG/Parade Digital

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